As of 2026, Salt Lake City-based LUX Catering & Events is an award-winning and highest-rated company in Utah in its industry. The company has been family-owned and operated for thirty years, starting out as a small service catering company. Now, LUX catering services cover every type of meal–from small plates to desserts–while its events span weddings, corporate parties or training sessions, casual gatherings, formal galas and fundraisers, and pop-up experiences. The company works to meet even the wildest requests, including a bar made entirely of ice. “As we celebrate over 30 years in the hospitality industry, we remain driven by a core belief: that hospitality is so much more than service — it’s about creating connections, celebrating communities and making a positive impact,” owner Kelly Lake told the Salt Lake Chamber’s Speaking on Business podcast.
LUX is considered a Benefit Corporation in Utah. When the Utah Legislature passed SB 133 into law in 2014, allowing businesses to designate themselves as Benefit Corporations, LUX was one of the first thirteen companies to do so. As a Benefit Corporation, Lux works to create a public benefit by considering employees, the community, and the environment as stakeholders.
LUX’s commitment to sustainability starts with its own operations. The walk-in refrigerators are designed to minimize energy use, with the freezers even placed inside them. The company also installed energy-efficient light bulbs, windows, and other equipment. Additionally, LUX participates in Rocky Mountain Power’s Blue Sky program and buys wind power that powers all of its operations, thereby “ensuring all our energy usage supports renewable sources.” Future plans to further build upon this sustainability model include a new production facility, which the company guarantees will be LEED-certified. “LUX is not only committed to our clients, but our environment,” Sarah McClure, director of marketing, told the Colorado chapter of the U.S. Chamber.
Photo Courtesy LUX Catering & Events
The company is also dedicated to making its events as sustainable as possible. “There are so many simple ways to produce a green event, such as sustainable rentals and linen options, coordination of mass transit, offering guests public transportation, menus featuring local ingredients — which helps to boost community revenue and reduce our carbon footprint — paperless proposals and invitations, eco-friendly centerpiece options, and so much more,” McClure said. Biodegradable tableware is made from sustainable fibers, such as bamboo, corn starch, or sustainably harvested palm fronds, while some glassware has been made of sugarcane, and the china is reusable. The company also collaborates with customers to ensure there is as little food waste as possible.
When LUX became aware of the amount of waste its events and catering generated, which consisted of 250 pounds of food waste per day, or 60 tons per year, they made changes to their operations. Now, they donate extra food to nonprofits, such as shelters and youth outreach programs. They also teamed up with Momentum Recycling in 2012 on a recycling program that turns this food waste into fertilizers for local farms and parks. In addition to becoming one of the first Utah caterers to implement such a program, the initiative has enabled it to keep almost 90% of its waste out of landfills, totaling 950,000 pounds between 2012 and 2023. Plastic wrap, tape, and food-related solid items, like aluminum foil, are the only items currently slipping through the cracks. The company also supports the local Waste-to-Energy Recycling Facility, which turns items it could not previously recycle, including plastic gloves, into energy, benefiting its local community. “We love recycling what’s old, making it into what’s new and trendy,” the company exclaimed in a blog post–a mindset that has led them to be recognized with the likes of a Utah Business Green Business Award. By ensuring that extra food finds its way to hungry neighbors or into new productive workstreams, LUX is “fostering a culture of compassion and sustainability,” as it describes on its website.
Photo Courtesy Momentum Recycling
Furthermore, LUX sources all of its catering locally, maintaining more than 100 relationships with breweries, distilleries, wineries, farmers, and producers across the state. LUX prides itself on being able to curate the perfect menu for every client, “bringing them exactly the flavor they are looking for while taking full advantage of the region’s most flavorful offerings.” Some of these local companies include Park City Creamery, which promises customers the ability to “Bring Utah Terroir” to their tables and “unique floral and mountain fresh notes found only in cheese made at high altitude in Utah.”
Sourcing locally supports other Utah businesses and contributes to local economic development, while helping the environment. “More of our supplies have less distance to travel, which equals less carbon emissions due to trucking and shipping,” the company wrote in a blog post, which also means “more money and resources are kept in Utah to Utah farmers, artisans, producers, etc.”
Notably, Lux Catering & Events has several sister companies, all under the LUX Group Brands umbrella. Each is dedicated to redefining hospitality in its own way, and many are equally sustainable. DRNK Bar Service, for example, specifically provides beverage catering in the Salt Lake City area and is also dedicated to sustainable practices and local sourcing.
Photo Courtesy LUX Catering & Events
Lux Catering & Events’ sustainability journey is not a walk in the park. In addition to all the research and training required to get them off the ground, a Sustainability Committee meets once per month to make sure that operations “meet or exceed our standards of excellence,” LUX explained, thereby contributing to continued process refinement and team education. According to McClure, “Being a green business is not something that comes easy. It requires time and effort, and sometimes the eco-friendly option is not the cost-effective one — but looking out for our planet and community is worth it in the end.”
However, the hard work has been worth it, and LUX Catering & Events wants to help others in the community to follow in their footsteps. For example, representatives participate in panels and workshops or speak at nearby conferences and universities, like the University of Utah and Westminster University. McClure described, “We share how we implemented our eco-focused business model, as well as give tips and information for other businesses to follow suit. We are working toward a cleaner and healthier world for future generations.”
Lux is dedicated to its at least 30 full-time employees and more than 100 seasonal or part-time employees. In order to use the freshest possible food, the business prepares as much as possible on-site, which, it explained in a report, “allows us to hire more bakers, chefs, servers, and kitchen staff to bake, prepare our foods and work events, thus supporting our community, strengthening our local economy, and welcoming new members into our little family.” These employees have been central to their sustainability efforts, McClure noted, “Your employees are the ones most heavily involved in your company and might see things you’re unaware of. Working together to fix those bugs has been the most powerful method for our teams.” Therefore, she added to CO-, “We like to call ourselves the LUX unicorns. We make [staff] feel like they are more than just a number to us because they are. They’re our family.”
Photo Courtesy LUX Catering & Events
